


Amnesiac Eckhart

by jmtorres



Category: Mutant X
Genre: Amnesia, M/M, Unfinished and Discontinued
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2002-08-28
Updated: 2003-02-16
Packaged: 2017-10-24 22:14:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/268446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jmtorres/pseuds/jmtorres
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Season 1 finale AU suggested by workingslacker: Adam rescues Mason from the pods, and his memory is scrambled. And he doesn't remember he's the bad guy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [workingslacker](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=workingslacker).



> The bits I actually wrote are pretty gen but if you want to hear about the Mason/Adam shenanigans before the team showed up, [my journal entry includes the chatlog with workingslacker](http://jmtorres.dreamwidth.org/487722.html).

Adam had to calm them down. "Everyone, this is Mason. He's been in a stasis pod and therefore _doesn't remember_ the last... twenty... eight years." He was allowed to fudge his age. He looked sternly at the mutants until they nodded their understanding of the situation. "Mason, these are... the kids. Our kids."

Mason looked at him in astonishment. "Our kids?"

Adam grinned. "Jesse here's a molecular. He can change his density. Emma's psionic, Shal's a feral, and Brennan's an electrical elemental."

"You mean, it worked?" Mason asked. "The experiments--you finished them? They worked?"

"Yes," Adam said proudly, only lying a little. "There are hundreds of mutants. Most of them are elsewhere, but these four stay here with me, at the Sanctuary."

"The Sanctuary?" Mason asked, turning from the kids back to Adam. "Where are we?"

"The location is secret. That's one of the things that makes it a sanctuary," Adam replied.

Mason was frowning. "Why do you need one?"

"It's a hard world for mutants," Adam said. "People are afraid of them, prejudiced against them. The government wants to control them and study them against their will. Protecting mutants is pretty much a full time job for our team," he said, nodding towards the four, then corrected himself. "More than a full-time job. It's our cause. Our lives."

Well. That was the pitch. Adam felt himself holding his breath, and exhaled impatiently. It didn't really matter if Mason was swayed by it _now;_ at some point, he would regain his memory, and it would be what he thought then that was important.

Mason turned to the kids again. "I want to apologize to you all," he said. "I wish I could have been here for you, to help protect you. I feel like I lost out, being in stasis for your childhoods. I feel like--I've failed you."

"You have," Jesse burst out. Emma stepped on his foot.

Adam sighed. Mason looked crushed. Jesse glared at Emma briefly and stalked off.

Brennan cleared his throat and said, "Don't worry about it. We're cool. Just do better, huh?"

"I'll try," Mason replied gravely.

Shalimar looked sullen, and like she wanted to say something, but she set her jaw and folded her arms and went after Jesse instead.

"Was it something I said?" Mason asked wearily.

"They'll come around," Emma said kindly. "Um--why don't I show you the Sanctuary?" she suggested, reaching out and taking his gloved hand.

Mason looked down at her hand, then back up at her face. Adam felt like he was the empath, he could so clearly read Mason's emotions. He hadn't expected her to touch him, but he couldn't quite remember why.

"Thank you," Mason said, and allowed himself to be led off.

"So," said Brennan.

"So," said Adam, waiting for the inevitable questions.

"You and Eckhart were a thing thirty years ago," Brennan said.

"Yes, we were," Adam said sadly.

"Do you actually think you can convert him, or are you just reliving past glories while he's stuck in the past?" Brennan asked.

Adam pursed his lips disapprovingly at Brennan. "I would _never._ Of course I'm trying to convert him. I just hope that it works, that I can get him to see... everything he's missing out on."

"Can I make a suggestion?" Brennan asked.

"What's that?" Adam said.

"Why don't you lock the door the next time? You know. For Shal's sake."

\----------

"Hey, Mason," Brennan said. He leaned over, glanced to both sides in a way that Mason felt make him look shifty, and said, "So give us the scoop--what's Adam's last name?"

Mason frowned at him. "Eckhart, of course." When Brennan looked fazed, Mason went on, "We legally changed our name to a combination of our previous surnames. It's not as if we could get married, but it was--a gesture."

"No, no, I mean before that," Brennan said. "What were you guys' names before?"

"Mine was Eckland," Mason replied, "and Adam's was--"

"Not important," Adam interrupted.

Brennan looked surprised, a bit chagrined, and guilty.

Mason had the distinct impression that either some conspiracy was at work or that Adam had become paranoid in the last thirty years. He kept his mouth shut then.

Later, when he and Adam were alone, Mason observed, "I see it's not just me you don't trust."

"What do you mean?" Adam asked, looking wary.

"I thought it was just me that you didn't trust, for some reason, when you wouldn't tell me where this Sanctuary of yours is," Mason explained. "But you don't want the children to know even your name. Adam, what is going on?"

Adam sat down on his bed and started taking his socks off, looking morose. "I haven't used a last name in a long time, Mason. I didn't want to be Adam Eckhart, because I didn't think I could bear to be constantly reminded of everything I thought I'd lost for good, but I didn't want to change it back, to pretend nothing ever happened, that we never were. So I dropped it. Entirely. I'm just Adam now."

"I don't understand," Mason said, pacing a little. He sidestepped a few emotional issues by attacking the practicalities. "How do you function in society? Have a bank account? A--a phone number? A job? Pay taxes? Vote?"

"I don't," Adam answered softly.

"You don't what?" Mason asked, bemused.

"Any of it," Adam replied. "I'm an outlaw, Mason. A rebel. I break laws--unjust ones--in protecting mutants. Some people--some people consider me a terrorist."

Mason blinked at him. "Do you blow up buildings?"

"Rarely," Adam replied wryly.

"Kill people?"

"I was framed, honest."

"Undermine the government?"

"The government's the problem!" Adam said vehemently, rising and throwing his socks at the hamper in the corner. "The GS Agency--Genetic Security--God, they're like Nazis. They catch every mutant they can and put governors on them, little devices that allow them to control when a mutant can use his or her abilities. With pain. If the mutant tries to use his or her powers without permission, the pain is enough to make them collapse.

"And the damnedest thing--the damnedest thing is," Adam sighed, "I invented subdermal governors."

"Why?" Mason asked.

"The first mutant we ever created," Adam said. "He had--incredible powers. But he was a sociopath, no conscience, believed that he was God. The scary thing was that he could make people obey him as if he were."

Mason snorted. "I assume you mean that he could make people obey him better than if he were. God said don't lie, but everybody lies. Not to mention all the other sins they commit when they feel like it."

"My, aren't we cynical," Adam said, looking halfway amused and halfway worried.

"What happened? You created the governor to control him?" Mason surmised.

"Yes," Adam sighed. "Gabriel's dead, now... I wish... he killed his parents, you know. If he could have been tried, he probably would have been executed. I wish we'd killed him then. Instead, I got fancy, and every other mutant is still paying for it. They use governors on every mutant they can get their hands on."

"Pre-emptively," Mason said, thoughtful.

"Prejudicially," Adam countered. "Most of them are just normal people trying to cope with abilities they have no map for, and they're treated like criminals not just before they're proven guilty of any crime but before they're even accused of any crime. Any crime other than being a mutant," he finished bitterly.

"Mason, I have a confession to make," Adam said.

"What?" Mason asked, feeling suddenly cold.

"You know how you said everybody lies?" Adam asked. "I've been lying to you. You weren't in a stasis pod for thirty years. It was more like thirty minutes, which isn't enough time for a pod to go all the way through its cycle, which is why your memory's scrambled."

"Why did you lie?" Mason asked. "What don't you want me to remember?"

"Oh, that we broke up," Adam said, sounding forcedly light. "That you blame me for the fact that you live in a plastic shell. That you're the head of the GSA," he went on softly. "That you founded it."

Mason studied him quietly. It wasn't that difficult to absorb this information--he'd felt inclined to play the devil's advocate to all of Adam's arguments--but it was still painful. "I'm a Nazi to you," he said slowly. "You think of me as unjust, cruel--" He turned away. "Well. That explains why half the children hate me. The thing I can't figure out is how the other two can stand to speak to me."

"Emma's telempathic," Adam said softly. "Sympathy is in her nature. And Brennan--I gave him a second chance, asking him to join Mutant X after he'd screwed up his life, and he's willing to pay the favor forward."

"Then you expect me to see your side of things now," Mason said. "Am I your captive, Adam? Are you brainwashing me?"

"No," Adam answered quickly. "I wanted to show you--I hoped that you might understand, if you got a chance to see how things are here, without knowing that we've been--enemies. But I'm sure you'll get your memory back eventually, and when you do, if you want to go back to the GSA, to GenomeX, then we'll send you back."

"I suppose I should thank you for the kindness of your offer," Mason murmured. "But I'm not sure I feel that you've been kind."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Originally in my journal](http://jmtorres.dreamwidth.org/137469.html).

Brennan realized with some discomfort that Eckhart was staring at him intently across the table, studying him, almost. Brennan cleared his throat and shifted, but he felt like Eckhart's gaze was still boring into him.

Surprisingly, when he looked back, Eckhart had redirected his scrutiny to Emma. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

"I feel that I should know you," Eckhart said, "both of you. Were you ever at GenomeX?"

Emma put her hand over her mouth to cover a little gasp. "He told you. Adam told you--" Brennan couldn't tell if she had deduced it from Eckhart's question, or if she had seen it in his mind.

"That I wasn't in stasis for decades?" Eckhart said, a little sharply. "And that in the decades I don't yet remember, he and I became enemies over your fates? Yes. Adam dislikes being dishonest. I hadn't even really begun to suspect when his conscience forced his hand."

Brennan said thoughtfully, "But you _don't_ really remember yet?"

Emma leaned forward to tell Eckhart earnestly, "You don't have to be enemies with Adam, you know. You can change your mind, change who you want to be."

"Yes, that's what this is all about, isn't it? My captivity--ah, my apologies, my _visit_ here?" Eckhart responded to her coldly. "However, I'm sure that as my memory returns, I'll recall the reasons for the stance I took. Preaching is one thing Adam does quite well, so I'm sure I've heard all of the opposing arguments before."

"You're really a bastard, you know," Brennan said conversationally. Emma looked so upset--he wanted to draw Eckhart's attention from her.

"I'm not surprised that you think so," Eckhart answered. "Adam has a similarly derogatory opinion of me."

"I formed my opinion of you without Adam's help," Brennan snapped. "To answer your question, yes, we were at GenomeX. We've both been your captives, and you didn't bother to be euphemistic about it, either."

Eckhart suddenly looked far too interested, asking, "Really? What happened?"

Brennan had a brief pang of doubt, wondering if it were such a good idea to remind Eckhart, to help him regain his identity. But he ploughed onward. "You had me strapped in a chair and put a governor on me. Then you told me to try to use my power, to demonstrate that if I used it while the governor was on it would hurt like--" He glanced at Emma and edited out a few curse words. "--like hell. Fire searing up and down my spine. Then you told me I was going to be a GS Agent and work for you, and you sent me out with some of your goons to make me use my powers against my friends. When I let them get away, you used the extra function of the governor--to torture me even when I hadn't been trying to use my power."

"You're right, I don't sound like a very nice person," Eckhart murmured, looking distracted.

After a couple of moments, Emma asked Eckhart, "What are you thinking about?"

Eckhart lost his distantly focused look and turned his attention on her again. "I'm trying to remember," he said slowly, "if being nice is something that matters to me."

"It should!" Emma told him indignantly. "You should have some kind of compassion for your fellow human beings. I mean, what kind of a person are you if you don't?"

"I don't know," Eckhart said in that same thoughtful, distracted way. He frowned at Emma. "I apologize. I didn't mean to upset you, my dear."

For a wonder, he sounded honestly contrite.

\----------

Adam, in irradiated protective gear and a sealed and sterilized lab, was helping Mason change his skin. This was an intimacy Adam had never previously been permitted. In all the time since Mason had needed a layer of latex to shield him from the germs of the world, he had blamed Adam for it so strongly that it had destroyed any trust they had shared prior to the accident.

Adam's musings on trust between them--and its want--lent an irony to Mason's confidence: "I think I'm starting to remember a few things."

Adam took a moment to find his voice, pretending to be focused on pulling a sleeve up Mason's arm. "Oh?"

"This process," Mason said, "it seems very familiar to me."

"I suppose it would," Adam said, relieved that that was all. "You've done it every day for years."

"And I thought I recalled Emma and Brennan earlier, as well," Mason went on conversationally, and Adam very nearly froze again. "I spoke to them about it. Brennan confirmed that he had met me at GenomeX, but Emma seemed disinclined to discuss any prior introduction."

"And what did Brennan have to say?" Adam asked, a little worried.

"That I had used a governor on him, and attempted to force him to work for me," Mason replied calmly. "I saw--I don't know if they were memories, or only imaginings based on his account--but I could see, in my mind's eye, some of the things he described." Mason paused. "He was very angry with me, but was pleasant enough after we dropped the subject. It's very odd to be treated as two different people. You've been doing it as well, Adam, treating me differently when I speak of who I ought to be, who I will be when my memory is restored--although admittedly you're more subtle about it."

"Sorry," Adam said, not knowing how else to respond to the observation. He sealed up the last of the latex, along Mason's spine, and turned to hand him clothes. "I think it's just that we're anticipating a shift in your perception of us--one that either hasn't happened yet, or is happening gradually."

Now that Mason was safely suited in both latex and, while Adam had been speaking, pants, Adam began to strip off the hazmat gear he'd worn while Mason was vulnerable.

"Emma," Mason mused, "could use her telempathic powers to speed the recovery of my memory. Or to alter my memories, for that matter. Have you asked her to do that, Adam?"

"Are you always this suspicious?" Adam asked. He felt like he was back on familiar turf, dealing with Mason's distrust. But it was a little disheartening, as well.

"I don't know; am I?" Mason asked, sounding more amused than accusatory. He continued, more thoughtfully, "You could dispense with all this convincing you feel the need to do and just ask her to change my beliefs for you. Emma's ability to alter a person's thoughts, feelings, and actions is one that I think I would utilize, if I were serious about gaining a subject's loyalty."

"And that's something about you that scares me," Adam replied truthfully. "It would be--"

"Invasive?" Mason suggested. He was nearly done buttoning his shirt now. "Immoral, Adam?" It sounded like a tease.

"A little too _Brave New World,_ and you know how I hated that book. Babies in bottles," Adam said, shaking his head. He held Mason's gloves out to him. "I wanted to better humanity, not streamline its production."

"Hmm," Mason said, accepting the gloves.

"Why did you even suggest it?" Adam asked. "You wouldn't want me to do that to you." An unspoken "Would you?" seemed to cling to the assertion.

"It would certainly be easier than knowing that my memories are transforming me into something you despise," Mason replied, "but no, I wouldn't want you to do that." He sighed. He looked--not precisely sad, but somewhat brooding.

"Do you want to go back to GenomeX?" Adam asked.

Mason studied him for a moment, then answered, "No. Not yet."

Adam wasn't sure what answer he'd been expecting, but he didn't know what to do with this one. He felt angry, as if he were being jerked around; he felt relieved that he didn't have to let Mason go yet; he felt his mouth compressing into a hard line. He felt like going and running a few simulations just so he could have something to punch, to take his frustration out on. "Damn it, Mason," he said quietly. He keyed the door to the lab open and walked out.

"What's the matter?" Mason asked, following him out. He caught up and touched Adam's arm, and Adam pulled away, but stopped and turned to face him.

"I don't know," Adam snapped.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Mason asked.

"I don't know what you want," Adam clarified. "I don't know if you remember enough that you want to stick around to spy, or if you feel like you remember too little to go back, or if you might actually just want to stay. With me."

"You could ask me," Mason pointed out.

"And what guarantee of honesty have I got?" Adam demanded.

"The fact that I've been honest with you so far, even about things that you obviously didn't want to hear me say," Mason said, voice harsh. "You don't want me to remember who I am; I know that. I told you what I've remembered anyway. You didn't want me to suggest Emma use her powers on me. I told you it was on my mind regardless. All in all, Adam, I've been a lot more honest with you than you have with me."

"Fine," Adam bit out. "What do you want? Why do you want to stay?"

"I don't know," Mason said, looking a bit like Adam had called a bluff in actually asking him. He took his spectacles off and looked down at them. "Seeing the world through rose colored glasses. That seems more like something you would do than I. Were these on me when you found me in the stasis pod, Adam?"

"Yes," Adam said, allowing the tangent, because it seemed somehow relevant. "They're yours. I don't know why you chose that particular color--"

"Probably some protective measure," Mason interrupted, then fixed Adam with a glare as he added, "Biological, not psychological, of course. I'm sure I'm too pragmatic for anything else." He wiped one lens with a gloved thumb, then put the glasses back on his face. "Despite the fact that everything you've told me implies that I shouldn't, and that when I'm myself probably don't--I do trust you. Perhaps it's just that I think I know you too well for you to surprise me, although that's surely a spurious impression given the sheer volume of time I can't recall. Perhaps it's a vestige of the times that I do remember clearly, from when we were young and I did truly trust you, because the man that you were then had earned my trust. It would be foolish of me to base my decision on a feeling so suspect as this trust, wouldn't it?"

"I suppose it would," Adam agreed.

"But I did," Mason replied. He didn't attempt to explain why. His only addendum was, "I'll let you know when I change my mind."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [dreamwidth entry](http://jmtorres.dreamwidth.org/238990.html)

"Morning, Mason, Emma murmurmed as she went into the kitchen. Someone had already brewed coffee, and it smelled divine.

"Good morning, Miss DeLauro," Eckhart answered crisply. He was seated at the table, arms folded loosely in an attitude of contemplation.

Emma poured herself a mug of coffee and held it to her face, just inhaling, then took a sip. As she turned to join Eckhart at the table, she did a quick sweep of the compound. Shalimar, Brennan and Jesse were all still sleeping, though Adam was up, and Eckhart--

The mug hit the floor and broke open. Emma hardly noticed the heat of the coffee that splattered her legs.

"Is something the matter?" Eckhart asked her coldly.

"You're--you," Emma said, and found she had backed into the counter. "Adam!" she called out.

"Here," Adam answered. Behind Eckhart, where the kitchen opened onto the larger living area, Adam lay supine on the couch. He was awake, but Emma's initial estimation of "up" might have been exaggerated--he looked weary.

Emma looked from one man to the other, confused. Eckhart took the time to stand and gesture at her dramatically, saying to Adam, "You see, this is precisely the kind of abuse I've been talking about."

"Mason," Adam said, warningly. He pushed himself upright. "Don't be rude," he admonished, coming to stand between them like a referee. "Emma, would you like to be a case study in our little disagreement over new mutant rights?"

"Adam?" Emma asked uncertainly. He seemed oddly formal, but there was a mocking undercurrent to his words which, while Emma could perceive that it was aimed at himself and Eckhart, made her feel uncomfortably like the butt of a joke no one would tell her the punchline to.

"It's alright," Adam told her with a brief, reassuring smile.

Emma glanced at Eckhart again. She realized that her knee-jerk reaction to the change in identity she'd seen in his head had been as premature as her assessment of Adam a minute ago. There was an odd complacence to his attitude, a _deference_ \--no, that wasn't right either. There was a _respect_ for Adam that Emma had never sensed in Eckhart before he came here, only animosity and disgust. The word Adam had used, _disagreement,_ was precisely right--it wasn't a fight, or even an argument, it was more along the lines of an intellectual debate, and Eckhart was, at Adam's behest, awaiting her permission before involving her. 

Eckhart was regaining his identity in bits and pieces, Emma realized, and Adam was trying to reshape him before he had all of his prejudices in place.

"Okay," she agreed warily.

"There," Adam said to Eckhart. " _Now_ you can hurl accusations at her."

"What did you mean by 'abuse'?" Emma asked before Eckhart could follow Adam's suggestion.

"Your use of your powers," Eckhart replied. "You read me without warning or cause, just now, as casually as if it were--routine."

"But it is routine," Emma said, frowning. "I--I check up on everyone in Sanctuary, make sure everybody's okay."

"Yes," said Eckhart, "and what _right_ have you to do so, to habitually invade the mind of anyone in the vicinity?"

"It's not an invasion!" Emma protested. "It's just a passive scan, not really anything more than somebody without my power could do just by looking at expression and body language, and listening to tone of voice." This was mostly true, although Emma had omitted the fact that she could do it at a distance, and out of line-of-sight. "In fact," she suddenly realized, "you don't even know for certain that I _did_ read you telempathically."

"How else would you ascertain the state of my memory and identity?" Eckhart asked dismissively.

"You called me 'Miss DeLauro,'" Emma said, more certain of herself now, "which you haven't done the entire time you've been here. The last time you called me that was at GenomeX."

"But you hardly noticed at the time I said it, did you?" Eckhart pressed. "It's the nature of psionics to be lazy, to use their unfair advantage far too freely. Why should you notice details like expression or tone when you a quick jab of the mind reveals everything you want to know?"

"Yes, I use my gift," Emma said. "I don't rely on it was exclusively as you're implying, but I use it. But what was I given it for if not to use it?" A thought struck her, and she glanced at Adam, who was watching her with a carefully neutral expression, but with a certain inner interest as well. "And not as a rhetorical question, because you guys are probably the best qualified on this Earth to answer it. Why did you give me this power, if not to use it?"

Eckhart glared at her. "You were not _given_ anything," he said. "All new mutants are the products of experiments with volatile genetic material that got out of control."

"It's true that the initial experiments yielded unexpected results," Adam interrupted for the first time, "but GenomeX continued the research, deliberately explored the possibilities laid open by those early trials." He was walking in a semi-circle behind Eckhart, but stopped at Eckhart's side to continue, "To answer your question, Emma, the rationale I was given for the creation of psionics such as yourself was that your sensitivities might make you good counselors or confessors, and that the associated ability to influence others' minds might aid you in helping those with emotional or mental disorders.

"That is, of course, not the only reason GenomeX and the government were interested in psionics," Adam noted, looking at Eckhart significantly, "nor even the primary reason. Mason? Would you care to contribute?"

"This entire tangent is irrelevant," Eckhart said stiffly. "The answer to your question, Miss DeLauro, is that of course one expects that you should use your powers, but responsibly--and instead you use them carelessly, invasively, and without permission."

"Whose permission?" Emma asked.

"The permission of those whose minds you are looking into, of course," Eckhart answered reasonably.

"Are you sure?" Emma asked. "Because I've read GenomeX's research files on psionics, and I do know about that primary purpose Adam was talking about. We were created for espionage. Whose permission should I be asking, to rummage through the minds of my enemies?"

Eckhart raised his eyebrows. "Are those in Sanctuary your enemies?"

Emma opened her mouth, but could not immediately produce a response. Adam intervened. "An argument could be made that you are a potential enemy of Mutant X as you regain your memory," Adam said, "which makes her scan of you an entirely reasonable defensive action. However, she has already stated that she was motivated not by enmity, but by concern for our well-being. You're taking Emma's words out of context."

"And she?" Eckhart protested. "I never said anyting about psionics as spies; she dragged that in and implied it represented my opinion."

"Well, technically, it should, as you authored the particular file she was referring to," Adam answered. "I think it's fair to ask if you stand by that--do you believe that the primary purpose of psionics is as intelligence agents, covert operatives, and if so, how does that inform your opinion on psionic consent issues?"

"Well," Eckhart temporized, "while intelligence-gathering is certainly a field where talents such as yours could be well-utilized..."

"You don't actually know, do you?" Emma asked suddenly.

"Excuse me?" Eckhart asked, frowning.

"You don't actually know what you think," Emma replied, more certain now. "You don't remember everything. You remember Ashlocke, don't you, because that's what you were talking about when you said I was the product of experiments that got out of control, but--you don't remember all the other research."

Eckhart looked vaguely relieved. "Yes," he admitted, "I suppose my memory is still somewhat spotty."

"So everything you said," Emma realized, "about me abusing my powers and being too lazy to actually look at people--you thought I was operating like him?" If Eckhart had let Ashlocke color his opinion of all new mutants over the years, that would go a long way to explaining why he acted as if they were all dangerous, needing to be kept on a tight leash and away from non-mutant society. "We're not like him," Emma told Eckhart earnestly. " _I'm_ not like him." That she worried that she might be, now and again, was not the thing to say. Nor was the fact that working for Mutant X essentially made her a covert operative, and one who was not afraid to use her powers on the enemy.

The decision of how to continue was taken out of her hands. "Not like him?" Eckhart echoed while she was still gathering her arguments. "And yet the first thing you did this morning--"

"I'm sorry, " Emma interrupted. Eckhart looked startled, but Emma was certain it was the right thing to say, because apologizing was something Ashlocke never would have done. "I clearly crossed a boundary, and I'm sorry. I won't do it again." She paused. "As long as you're a guest in Sanctuary, I won't do it again."

"But as soon as I leave, I'm fair game?" Eckhart demanded.

"That depends on what circumstances you leave under," Emma said, not letting him trip her up. "GenomeX hunts new mutants, and specifically Mutant X. If you return to that, then I may at some point use my powers against you to keep my freedom. And you're not going to argue me into thinking that _that's_ wrong."

Eckhart gazed at her consideringly for a few moments, then answered, "Very well. Your apology, and all its caveats, are accepted."


End file.
